Why American Horror Story Fans Think This Episode Ruins Roanoke
"American Horror Story: Roanoke" has earned a lot of mixed opinions from "AHS" fans over time. While some find the series terrifying and incredibly tense, others have claimed it's the show's weakest season. Featuring a story about the lost Roanoke colony, a message about the horrors of reality TV, and a haunted house and ghost plot that mashes together in a single, wide-ranging reason, it goes a lot of places and tends to keep people incredibly divided about what works and what doesn't.
It's perhaps not surprising to learn that some fans of "American Horror Story: Roanoke" find a certain event the be the proverbial line in the sand when it comes to divvying up where the season's "good" and "bad" episodes fall. They typically land on a specific storytelling device that the season employed in one episode. So what was the plot device and how do fans feel about it?
For some AHS fans, the ending is particularly bitter
"Episode 10 ruins what might possibly be the scariest season," user /u/LuxoJr86 stated in a post on the "American Horror Story" subreddit. The Roanoke colony portion of the storyline and the "My Roanoke Nightmare" mock-reality show — and even the reunion "season" uniting the actors and the haunting victims with paranormalists — generally earn a favorable reaction from fans. But that isn't the case for this user.
"[The episode] "Three [D]ays in Hell" is pure dread," they continued. "I adore the designs of the ghosts, showing purification and a complete juxtaposition to the Hollywood interpretation of the land's inhabitants." While the found footage premise worked for them, calling it "more raw and relatable," they said that the finale "destroys any interest I have for the story." They proceeded to say that the Ghost Hunters, Snapped, and other reality show spoofs were "unfunny" and ruined the atmosphere that the rest of the episodes had built up. They also found the notion of the murders being broadcast live on television too unrealistic.
And /u/LuxoJr86 isn't alone. The majority of those who commented agreed with them. For example, /u/viridiusdynamus noted that "Roanoke is my favorite season and I still agree with a lot of this."
Only commenter /u/aimckinn6 demurred. "I don't personally think the finale ruins the season." But even while they enjoyed AHS' "commitment" to the satirical spoofs of reality programming throughout "Roanoke," they still write that they didn't enjoy the execution.